As I’m sure most of you have seen by now, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are on the current cover of Vogue and everyone has an opinion on it. Anna Wintour even released a statement about the pictures, something I have never seen her do: not even after the controversy over Lena Dunham’s photo spread that many felt was too photoshopped. In case anyone is wondering, Lena Dunham said she actually really liked the pictures and the photoshopping was something she knew was going to happen: it was the cover of Vogue, she knew exactly what she was signing up for.
But I digress, the topic at hand here is Kim Kardashian, not Lena Dunham. A lot of people think it’s completely ridiculous having someone like her on the cover: someone who famous for being famous via a reality show but who appears to lack any other talent. Well if you ask me, sustaining a career as an reality star for as long as she has mainly through the use of social media is not something to take lightly. In today’s world social media is major force in everything from politics to sports to entertainment and she has taken full advantage of that. She may not be a musician like Kanye or a movie star but she has helped create a new category of celebrity in a way that very few others have been able to do. In my opinion one of the few other people who has been truly successful at this is Lauren Conrad. I bet if she were on the cover of Vogue people would not be up in arms, on the contrary they would probably think it was cool or not think anything of it at all. I know “Keeping up with the Kardashians” is not the smartest, sharpest show on television but “The Hills” certainly wasn’t either. They’re both guilty pleasure shows that people watch as an escape from everything else happening in their lives.
Another thing I would like to point out about Kim and her sisters Khloe and Kourtney is that they have helped re-shape Hollywood beauty standards, a task much harder than mainting fame through social media. Before their show the general beauty standard was tall, thin, blonde: basically Paris Hilton, a much more untainable goal for the majority of women and young girls. The Kardashians have focused a large part of their fame on the fact that they are essentially the opposite of this stereotypical standard: they are not a million feet tall, they’re brunette, and most importantly they have real bodies: they are not stick thin fashion-model sized girls. That’s a powerful message to send to young girls: that not looking like a fashion model is perfectly acceptable because everyone is different. While I fully understand that these unattainable standards are definitely still out there, I think the Kardashians serve as a powerful reminder that there are alternatives. It has certainly been a powerful reminder for me as I look way more like them than I do like Paris Hilton or any runway model.
Like Anna Wintour said in her statement: the cover of Vogue is supposed to get people talking and this cover has done just that. People can be as angry as they want about the choice of cover stars but at the end of the day all the talking and complaing does is give more publicity to both Vogue and Kim. The cover and magazine as a whole, is supposed to showcase the most relevant things in fashion and pop culture: another goal achieved with this cover. So while Kim Kardashian may not have any discernable talent she is definitely very relevant in today’s celebritiy obessed culture and she deserves a Vogue cover as much as anyone else.
Also, let’s not forget Kanye isn’t always exactly the most upstanding citizen… just saying.
#TRILL Thank you @voguemagazine http://t.co/C4O8XOeJjS
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 21, 2014